Already Gone
by Criala
Summary: She lay injured and dying, visions from the past running through her mind.
1. Chapter 1

I've been working on this for a while now, and finally finished it!  
I'm debating on more chapters.  
Do you guys think I should do more chapters?  
I hope you enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Only Ayumi and the plot belong to me.**

* * *

Coughing echoed throughout the surrounding area. Blood spattered on the ground. A feminine groan soon followed, along with the sound of a body colliding with a tree trunk.

"So this is how it ends…" A young female murmured to herself. She slumped further against the tree trunk, her hand pressed against her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but crimson keep pouring from between her fingers. Green irises stared, watching as the blood flowed down and pooled on the ground beside her.

An enemy had caught her off guard. A group had ambushed her while she was travelling through the forest. While she was fighting one, another stabbed her in the stomach from behind, his blade going right through her flesh as if it were butter. She managed to fend them off long enough for her to make her escape.

"I can't believe it… That it's ending like this…" A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "And I'm talking to myself." Her eyes drooped shut, but she quickly snapped them open. She couldn't give into the darkness. Not just yet.

"It's not a horrible way to die. There are worse ways that I could die…" She whispered to herself. Her body began to go limp against the tree trunk as her eyes slowly began to close. Distant memories blurred through her mind.

~X~

"_**Itachi-kun!" A young girl with black hair and green eyes called out, waving her arm wildly in the air. **_

_**A young boy with raven locks and onyx eyes turned to look at her. He had his hair tied back in a ponytail with his bangs framing his face. "Ayumi-san." **_

"_**Hi!" She grinned at him, and the grin looked right at home on her face.**_

"_**Hello." He nodded to her.**_

"_**What are you doing?" Ayumi asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.**_

"_**I just got back from a mission. I'm heading home now." He answered.**_

"_**Oh, cool. I'll walk with you!" She beamed, bouncing lightly on her feet.**_

"_**Alright." He turned and continued on his way.**_

"_**How did your mission go?" She asked, skipping as she walked beside him, lacing her fingers together in front of her. "Did you already turn in your mission report?" **_

"_**It went fine, and yes, I have. I just left the Hokage's office." He responded, keeping his gaze in front of him. **_

"_**Good!" She smiled. "What did you have to do for it?" **_

"_**It was just an escort mission." **_

"_**Cool! Was it difficult?" **_

"_**It was fairly easy." **_

"_**Did you have to fight anyone?" **_

"_**No." He didn't seem to be bothered by all of the questions she was asking. Some people might have been annoyed by it, but he didn't appear to be.**_

"_**Oh, okay." She nodded her head. She seemed to be done asking questions for the time being. **_

_**The rest of the walk was made in silence, but she didn't care, and he didn't seem to either. The silence wasn't awkward; in fact it seemed almost pleasant. **_

~X~

"_**Ouch!" Ayumi whimpered in pain, clasping one of her hands around her ankle. She had tripped over a tree branch while collecting some berries and herbs for her mother. Her mother was one of the people that helped make medical supplies for the village. She wiggled her ankle lightly, causing another whimper to escape her lips. It hurt a lot to move her ankle. What was she going to do now? How would she get home on a hurt ankle? It was going to get dark out soon.**_

"_**Ayumi-san?" **_

_**She looked up at the sound of the voice, relief overcoming her entire body. "Itachi-kun!" **_

"_**What happened?" He asked, looking down at her.**_

"_**I was collecting some herbs and berries for my mom, but I tripped over a tree root and hurt my ankle…" She frowned, rubbing her ankle gently and wincing as pain shot up her leg.**_

"_**You should be more careful." He spoke as he kneeled down to take a look at her ankle. He handled it carefully, pressing here and there.**_

"_**Ow, that hurt!" She glared down at him.**_

"_**Well, luckily it's not broke. It is sprained badly though, so you should stay off of it for a few days." He told her, turning around and crouching down. "Get on." **_

"_**What?" She blinked, looking confused. **_

"_**How else are you going to get home?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at her. **_

_**She was silent for a moment, before she sighed, murmuring. "I guess you're right…" She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, so she could secure herself on his back. **_

_**He reached his arms back and took a hold of her calves. Once she was completely secure on his back, he stood up straight and began walking. **_

"_**Thank you." She sighed softly, letting her head drop against his shoulder blade.**_

_**He merely nodded his head as a response.**_

_**She let her eyes close, and began to lightly doze off as he made his way back to the village.**_

~X~

"_**You're so strong, Itachi-kun." She stated, staring up at the sky and watching the clouds go by.**_

"_**Oh?" He glanced at her.**_

"_**Yeah, I mean… I feel like I'm light years behind you. I'm just a Chunin. You're already the Captain of an Anbu team!" She sighed, her shoulders slumping and her gaze dropping to the ground. "You're lucky that you're so strong." **_

_**A humorless chuckle left his lips. "Being great isn't all it's cracked up to be, Ayumi-san. Remember that." He told her, the tone of his voice was blank, dry.**_

_**She tilted her head, blinking and looking at him curiously. There was something about the way he said that… The tone of his voice… That was just off, but she shrugged it off, nodding. "Right…" **_

~X~

_**Ayumi walked into the Hokage's office to turn in her mission report. She had been out of the village on a mission for a few days, and she'd just gotten back that morning. It had been a really easy mission. All she had to do was escort a man back home. They weren't attacked, so the mission went along smoothly. **_

"_**Hokage-sama?" She questioned.**_

_**The Hokage glanced up at her. "Ah, hello Ayumi-san. Back from your mission already?" **_

"_**Yes, I just got back this morning." She smiled, approaching his desk and placing the mission report on it.**_

"_**Thank you." He returned her smile. "Your effort is appreciated. Be sure to rest now that you're back." **_

"_**I will, Hokage-sama. I'm heading back now." She bowed to him and left his office. While she was on her way home, she debated stopping at Ichiraku's for some ramen. Her mind drifted into the clouds as she began to day dream, not quite paying attention to where she was going. However, she was knocked out of her day dreams when she ran into someone. **_

"_**Ah!" She grunted as she nearly fell backwards onto the ground, but she managed to catch and steady herself.**_

"_**Hey, watch where you're going!" The high pitched voice of a young boy huffed. **_

_**Ayumi blinked and looked down at who she'd run into. "Sasuke-kun…?" **_

"_**Oh. It's you, Ayumi-chan." He looked up at her. **_

"_**Hey." She gave a lazy wave, glancing around. That was odd. Itachi wasn't with him. "Where's Itachi?" **_

_**Sasuke's whole demeanor changed, and his face fell. **_

"_**What is it…?" She asked with concern evident in her voice.**_

"_**Itachi… H… He killed the whole clan…" His bottom lip trembled.**_

"_**W-What?" She whispered, staring at him with wide eyes. **_

"_**He killed the whole clan, and I'm going to get stronger and avenge the clan!" Sasuke shouted, drawing attention from people walking by. He clenched his fists, and turned around, running off.**_

_**Ayumi was frozen to that spot, only able to stare at his back as it got smaller and smaller. Her brain was still trying to process the information she'd just received. Itachi… Killed the whole Uchiha clan…? **_

~X~

There was one last thought that went through her mind before she was completely consumed by the darkness.

_I didn't get to see him again… _


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, here is the second part.  
I hope you all like it. :)  
I'm currently working on a chapter three, so let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Only Ayumi and the plot belong to me.  
**

* * *

A quiet groan could be heard as the female began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened and glanced around. Everything was white. The walls, the curtains. She began to sit up and winced, wrapping her arm around her stomach.

_Am I dead? No. I can't be. I wouldn't be feeling pain if I were dead._

"So I'm not dead…" She said softly, staring down at her lap.

"No, you're not. But you came really close." A male voice came from her left.

Her head snapped in the direction that the voice came from.

In the doorway was a man with spiky grey hair. All of his face was covered except for his right eye, which was black. She recognized the symbol on his forehead protector as the symbol for Konoha.

"Who… Are you?" She questioned, staring at him with caution.

"I should be asking you that." He replied, shoving his hands casually into his pockets. "We found you severely injured."

She trailed a hand along her stomach, applying a bit of pressure and wincing as she did so.

"Just now remembering your injuries?" He inquired.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Enough small talk. Where am I?"

"Tell me who you are first." He told her.

"Ayumi Nugasaki." She muttered with a slight huff.

"That name is familiar." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. You are in the Konoha hospital."

_Kakashi… Hatake…?_

"I see…" She murmured, looking away from him.

_I never thought I'd hear that name again._

"You'll need to stay here until you heal more." He told her, observing her. He couldn't help but feel like he'd seen her somewhere before.

She merely nodded her head as a response, letting herself lay back completely against the pillows, looking at the window.

There were a few moments of silence until she spoke, not turning her head to look at him. "You should have just left me." Her voice was just loud enough for him to hear.

"To die?" The tone of his voice was questioning.

"Yes." She spared him a glance.

"If that's what you think. But we didn't, and you're alive." He met her gaze.

She held eye contact with him for a moment, before looking away.

"I'll leave you to rest then." He nodded to her, even though she wasn't looking at him, and left the room. The door shut with a soft click.

She let her eyes slip closed, deciding to try to get some more rest since she wouldn't be allowed to leave anytime soon. It took some time, but she finally managed to drift off.

~X~

_**Though she was surrounded by darkness, her brain was still able to process the sounds around her, signaling that she hadn't completely lost consciousness yet. The faint sound of voices echoed through the air, reaching her ear drums.**_

"_**Hey, I think I see something over there!" A male voice.**_

"_**It looks like a person." Another voice, but it was female this time.**_

"_**They look really hurt. We have to help them!" The male voice again.**_

"_**Don't worry, we'll help you!" The male voice spoke with a tone of reassurance. Then she felt herself being lifted from her position against the tree trunk. **_

"_**She's lost a lot of blood." Another male voice spoke. This one sounded older than the one she'd first heard. "Lay her down, so Sakura can look at her." **_

_**She soon felt the ground beneath her back and with that, she drifted away completely.**_

~X~

Her eyes fluttered opened. "So that's what happened…" She murmured to herself, staring up at the ceiling.

_I'd already accepted the fact that I was going to die young when I decided that I wanted to be a shinobi. I knew what risks there were. Even then, I didn't realize just how young it was going to be, but I made peace with that fact. Then they came along and saved me. I appreciate that they were kind enough to, but they should have just left me there to die. _

The sound of the door opening caught her attention, and she turned her head to see who had come in. A young man with blonde hair stood there. He had blue eyes, and there were whiskers on his cheeks. Beside him was a girl who had pink hair and green eyes.

"Naruto, we should be letting her rest. She needs it to recover from those awful injuries." The female scolded, giving him a look.

"But, Sakura-chan." He whined. "I wanted to see if she was okay!"

"So? It could have waited until she was more healed!" Sakura retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

"Err…" Ayumi blinked in bewilderment at the two of them bickering. "Hello…?"

The two of them froze at the sound of her voice. It took them a minute, but they looked over at her.

"Sorry to disturb you." Sakura laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "He wanted to see how you were, even though I kept telling him that he would just let you be so you could sleep."

"Hey…" Naruto pouted a bit.

"It's fine. I wasn't sleeping." Ayumi said with a slight smile on her lips.

"See, Sakura-chan? I told you it was alright!" Naruto grinned, rushing over to Ayumi's bedside.

Sakura sighed, rubbing her forehead and stepping closer as well.

"How are you doing?" Naruto asked, looking at Ayumi with concern. "You were pretty beat up when we found you!"

"I've been better, but I'm alright." She replied, softly smiling.

"Good!" He grinned again. "What's your name?"

"It's Ayumi." She answered.

"I'm Naruto, and that's Sakura-chan!" He introduced the two of them.

"Hi." Sakura gave her a kind smile.

"It's nice to meet the both of you." Ayumi nodded to them.

"You too!" Naruto was still grinning.

"We'll let you rest now." Sakura said. There was a smile on her face until she looked at Naruto and the smile was replaced with a stern look. "Right, Naruto?"

"Fiiiiine." He grumbled. He wanted to stay and converse with Ayumi.

"You can come back later, but she really needs her rest right now." Sakura reached out and grabbed Naruto's ear, dragging him away from Ayumi's bedside.

"H-Hey! Sakura-chan, that hurts!" Naruto flailed his arms around, twisting his head to try to get his ear out of Sakura's grip, but to no avail. "Let go!"

"I hope you feel better, Ayumi-san!" Sakura called over her shoulder, completely ignoring Naruto's pleas for her to let him go. She pulled him out of the room, giving Ayumi a wave with her free hand before she closed the door.

"What an interesting pair…" Ayumi murmured as she let herself relax.


End file.
